WHEN THE DEVIL CHOSE LOVE

THE MISSING FACE

Chapter 5

Darkness swallowed Blackwood Manor.

Not a single light remained.

The only sound was the relentless rain beating against the windows.

Then...

The man's laughter echoed through the mansion once more.

"Good evening, Lucien."

Every bodyguard immediately formed a protective circle around Nerisse.

Ethan reached for the emergency flashlight hanging on the wall.

A sharp beam of light cut through the darkness.

"Sir."

"The backup generator isn't responding."

Lucien's eyes narrowed.

"Someone disabled it."

The mysterious voice laughed again.

"Very observant."

Nerisse felt a chill crawl down her spine.

"Where is he?" she whispered.

No one answered.

Because no one knew.

The voice seemed to come from every corner of the house.

"You're searching for me..."

"While I'm already inside your home."

Margaret gasped.

Ethan tightened his grip on his weapon.

"Search every floor!"

Four bodyguards disappeared into the darkness.

Their footsteps echoed through the endless hallways.

Lucien turned to Nerisse.

"Stay beside me."

She nodded.

For the first time since meeting him...

She didn't argue.

Suddenly—

A loud crash echoed from upstairs.

Glass shattered.

Then came the sound of hurried footsteps.

Ethan raised his flashlight toward the staircase.

"Someone's running!"

Lucien sprinted forward without hesitation.

"Follow me."

Nerisse chased after him.

They reached the second floor just in time to see a dark figure disappear around the corner.

"Stop!"

Ethan shouted.

The figure never looked back.

Lucien increased his speed.

His footsteps thundered across the polished wooden floor.

They raced through one corridor...

Then another...

Until the figure vanished.

Completely.

Ethan searched every room.

Nothing.

Every window was locked.

Every balcony was empty.

It was as though the intruder had dissolved into thin air.

Nerisse slowly stepped into the final room at the end of the hallway.

It looked untouched.

Dust covered the old furniture.

A large white sheet draped over a grand piano.

The room felt abandoned.

Then...

She noticed something unusual.

A portrait hanging on the wall.

It was slightly crooked.

She walked toward it.

"Lucien."

He turned.

"Look."

Lucien carefully lifted the portrait.

Hidden behind it was a small steel safe.

Ethan frowned.

"I didn't know this existed."

Lucien looked surprised.

"Neither did I."

The safe door was already open.

Empty.

Except for a single folded piece of paper.

Lucien unfolded it.

His expression immediately darkened.

Nerisse stepped closer.

"What does it say?"

He handed her the note.

Written in elegant black ink were the words:

**One photograph is missing...**

**One truth remains buried...**

**Ask Lucien who really ordered your father's death.**

Nerisse froze.

Slowly...

She turned toward Lucien.

Her hands trembled.

"What does this mean?"

Lucien remained silent.

His silence hurt more than any answer could have.

Tears filled her eyes.

"Tell me..."

"Did you know my father?"

He nodded.

"Yes."

"Did you know he was going to die?"

Another painful silence.

Nerisse felt her heart sink.

"Answer me!"

Lucien closed his eyes.

When he finally spoke...

His voice was filled with regret.

"I was there."

The room became deathly quiet.

Nerisse stared at him in disbelief.

"You were there?"

Lucien slowly nodded.

"And I couldn't save him."

Before Nerisse could speak again—

Ethan's phone rang.

He answered immediately.

His face turned pale.

"Sir..."

"We've found another body."

Lucien's expression hardened.

"Where?"

Ethan swallowed.

"In the east garden."

"The victim was holding this."

Ethan slowly held up a bloodstained photograph.

Nerisse's breath caught.

It was the missing half from her mother's silver locket.

And the face in the photograph...

Was Lucien Blackwood.

Nerisse couldn't breathe.

Her eyes remained fixed on the faded photograph in Ethan's hand.

Lucien.

It was unmistakably him.

Younger.

Smiling.

Standing beside her father.

The very man she had never met.

Her fingers slowly reached for the photograph.

They trembled as she held it.

"This..."

Her voice cracked.

"...this is my father?"

Ethan lowered his head.

"We believe so."

Nerisse looked at Lucien.

Tears gathered in her eyes.

"You knew him."

Lucien nodded once.

"Yes."

"Then why didn't you tell me?"

He remained silent.

That silence hurt more than any lie.

Nerisse's chest tightened.

"Ever since I met you..."

"Everyone keeps telling me to trust you."

"But every truth I discover..."

"...you've already known."

Lucien looked into her tear-filled eyes.

For the first time, he had no answer.

He had spent years protecting secrets.

But now...

Those same secrets were destroying the only promise he had ever made.

"I'm sorry."

Nerisse gave a bitter laugh.

"Stop apologizing."

"Just tell me the truth."

Before Lucien could speak, another bodyguard rushed into the room.

His breathing was uneven.

"Mr. Blackwood!"

"We've searched the entire east garden."

"The victim wasn't one of ours."

Ethan frowned.

"Who was he?"

The guard swallowed.

"One of the attackers."

Silence filled the room.

"He's dead."

Lucien's expression hardened.

"Cause of death?"

"A single knife wound."

Ethan looked confused.

"One of his own men killed him?"

The guard nodded.

"It appears so."

Lucien slowly looked toward the rain-covered window.

"No."

His voice was calm.

"Someone eliminated him..."

"...because he knew too much."

Nerisse felt another chill run through her body.

Whoever was behind all this...

They were erasing every witness.

Every clue.

Every person who could reveal the truth.

Suddenly—

The lights flickered.

Once.

Twice.

Then electricity returned to the manor.

The chandeliers glowed brightly again.

Margaret let out a relieved sigh.

But Lucien didn't relax.

Something felt wrong.

Very wrong.

Ethan's phone vibrated.

He answered immediately.

His face lost all color.

"Sir..."

"We've just received security footage."

"From tonight."

Lucien held out his hand.

"Show me."

Ethan played the recording.

Everyone gathered around.

The footage showed the intruder entering the manor through the hidden passage.

His face remained hidden beneath a black hood.

He walked with confidence.

As though he already knew the layout of the house.

Then...

He suddenly stopped.

Slowly...

He turned toward the security camera.

As if he knew it was there.

He smiled.

Then reached up...

And removed his hood.

Nerisse gasped.

The room fell silent.

Margaret covered her mouth.

Ethan stared at the screen in disbelief.

Lucien's face became completely expressionless.

The man on the screen...

Looked exactly like Lucien.

The same black eyes.

The same sharp jawline.

The same height.

The same face.

Nerisse slowly stepped backward.

Her voice barely escaped her lips.

"That's..."

"...impossible."

The man on the screen smiled directly into the camera.

Then he spoke.

His voice echoed through the speakers.

"Hello, brother."

Lucien closed his eyes.

A secret he had buried for years...

Had finally returned

Silence consumed the room.

No one spoke.

No one even breathed.

Nerisse stared at the frozen image on the security monitor.

Two men.

The same face.

The same piercing black eyes.

It was impossible.

Yet the evidence was right in front of her.

Slowly, she turned toward Lucien.

"Brother...?"

Lucien never looked away from the screen.

His expression remained unreadable.

But Ethan noticed something no one else did.

Lucien's hands were trembling.

Barely.

Almost invisibly.

Yet they were.

Ethan swallowed.

"Sir..."

Lucien raised a hand, stopping him from speaking.

The room fell silent again.

After what felt like forever, Lucien finally spoke.

"His name is Damien."

Nerisse frowned.

"Damien?"

Lucien nodded.

"My twin brother."

The words struck the room like lightning.

Margaret slowly sat down.

Ethan closed his eyes.

Every bodyguard exchanged uneasy glances.

Nerisse couldn't believe what she had just heard.

"You have a twin brother?"

Lucien

Nerisse's hands refused to stop trembling.

The file slipped from her fingers and landed on the cold stone floor.

Every page scattered around her.

Childhood photographs.

School records.

Hospital reports.

Birth certificates.

Someone had documented every moment of her life.

Every birthday.

Every school she attended.

Every address she had ever lived at.

She slowly knelt and picked up one of the photographs.

She couldn't have been more than six years old.

She was smiling as her mother pushed her on a swing.

A date was written at the bottom.

Someone had been watching them.

Tears filled her eyes.

"Mum..."

"How much were you hiding from me?"

Lucien quietly picked up another document.

His expression changed.

"Ethan."

Ethan walked over immediately.

"Sir?"

Lucien handed him the paper.

Ethan's face hardened as he read it.

"This can't be right."

Nerisse looked between them.

"What is it?"

Neither man answered.

"Lucien."

Her voice became firmer.

"Tell me."

He hesitated.

Then he handed her the document.

At the top were the words:

**PROJECT PHOENIX**

Below it...

Three names were listed.

**Lucien Blackwood.**

**Damien Blackwood.**

**Nerisse Vale.**

Her heart skipped a beat.

"Why is my name here?"

Lucien slowly shook his head.

"I don't know."

Before anyone could say another word—

The emergency lights suddenly went out.

Darkness swallowed the underground vault.

Nerisse instinctively grabbed Lucien's arm.

He didn't pull away.

Instead, he gently moved her behind him.

"Stay close."

A slow clap echoed through the darkness.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

The sound bounced off the stone walls.

No one could tell where it was coming from.

Then...

A familiar voice spoke.

"I'm impressed."

Nerisse froze.

Damien.

Lucien's eyes narrowed.

"Show yourself."

Damien laughed.

"You always were impatient, brother."

Suddenly, the emergency lights flickered back on.

Damien stood at the opposite end of the vault.

Dressed in black.

His hands resting casually in his pockets.

He looked exactly like Lucien.

The only difference was the smile.

Lucien's expression was calm.

Damien's was filled with amusement.

Nerisse couldn't look away.

Seeing them together was unsettling.

It was like looking at the same man reflected in a cracked mirror.

Damien's gaze settled on Nerisse.

"So..."

"We've finally met."

Lucien stepped between them.

"Leave her out of this."

Damien chuckled.

"I would..."

"...if she wasn't the reason this story began."

Nerisse frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Damien ignored the question.

Instead, he looked at Lucien.

"Tell her."

Silence.

"Tell her why her parents died."

Lucien's jaw tightened.

"Not here."

Damien sighed dramatically.

"Still protecting her."

He slowly reached into his coat and removed an old pocket watch.

He tossed it toward Nerisse.

She caught it instinctively.

It was worn with age.

She carefully opened it.

Inside was a tiny family photograph.

Her mother.

Her father.

Herself...

And Lucien.

Standing beside them.

Smiling.

Nerisse's breathing became uneven.

"You..."

"...were part of my family."

Lucien lowered his eyes.

He couldn't deny it.

Damien smiled.

"Now ask him the question he's been avoiding."

Tears rolled down Nerisse's cheeks.

She looked straight at Lucien.

Her voice shook.

"Who are you to me?"

Before Lucien could answer—

A deafening explosion shook the vault.

The ceiling cracked.

Dust and broken stone rained down around them.

Ethan shouted,

"Everyone out!"

Another explosion followed.

The lights burst one by one.

The underground vault began to collapse.

Through the chaos, Damien smiled one last time.

Then he disappeared into the falling dust.

End of chapter 5

When the devil chose Love